Sports briefly

Posted: June 6, 2010 - 11:31pm

PRETORIA, South Africa

Jozy Altidore has tested his sprained right ankle at the U.S. World Cup training camp, running sprints while a fitness coach watched.

It was hard to know after Sunday's training session how banged up the 20-year-old forward is. The U.S. Soccer Federation didn't make Altidore available to reporters, and coach Bob Bradley left training without speaking to media.

If Altidore isn't healthy for the Americans' World Cup opener against England on Saturday, options have emerged. Edson Buddle scored his first two international goals in the exhibition win over Australia, Herculez Gomez got goals in each of his last two appearances, and speedy Robbie Findley stretches the defense, even if he did miss two good scoring chances against Australia.

METAIRIE, La.

The Super Bowl champion Saints are heading down to coastal Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana on Tuesday to visit areas affected by the Gulf oil spill.

Coach Sean Payton says the Saints initially planned to attend a lunch at the governor's mansion in Baton Rouge that day, but Gov. Bobby Jindal and the team decided it would be more appropriate to meet at a site that is now suffering from the worst oil spill in the nation's history.

Payton says he expects the Saints to bring along the Vince Lombardi Trophy and hopes the coaches and players can provide moral support and help keep the attention on the plight of residents whose livelihoods and way of life have been endangered by the spill.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Olympic athletes are wondering what impact the U.S. Olympic Committee's multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal with BP could have on their future, given the continued bad news coming from the Gulf Coast oil spill.

American athletes receive money from the USOC, some of which comes via the sponsorship with BP. The oil company signed a deal with the USOC in February worth between $10 million and $15 million.

Agent Evan Morgenstein said he has received a number of calls from Olympic athletes he represents who are concerned about the connections.

The London 2012 Olympic organizing committee also has a deal with BP, valued at around $58 million. And next weekend's baseball series between the Cubs and White Sox also is sponsored by BP.

LUXEMBOURG

Italian Matteo Carrara has won the Tour of Luxembourg, with Lance Armstrong finishing third.

The fourth and last stage of the race was won by Spaniard Gorka Izaguirre in a sprint shortened by torrential rain Sunday.

Carrara claimed his first major win, finishing ahead of 2009 winner Frank Schleck of Luxembourg.

The 38-year-old Armstrong was competing as part of his preparations for the Tour de France.